News Releases

OMDC Presents 6th Annual Co-Financing Market During TIFF®

15 Ontario Co-Production Projects Selected for International Film Financing Forum

August 31, 2011

TORONTO- Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) is proud to present the sixth annual International Financing Forum (IFF), a two day event held during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) from September 11-12. IFF is a competitive feature film co-financing market that brings together selected international and Canadian producers developing English language projects to network and do business with each other and with high-level film industry executives including international sales agents, financiers, distributors, agents, and executive producers.

Forty-one feature film producers and projects have been selected to participate in IFF 2011’s competitive program; 20 Canadian producers (including 15 Ontario producers) and 21 international producers from countries such as: Australia, France, India, Norway, United Kingdom, and the United States.

QUOTES

“OMDC is proud to offer initiatives such as the International Financing Forum that encourage and facilitate key business opportunities for our producers. Partners are critical to getting films financed, and IFF has been very successful to date in bringing domestic and international producers together with key industry executives. In the last five years we have been able to showcase 256 feature projects at IFF and helped a number of them to get financed, including films like the critically acclaimed OMDC-supported feature The Whistleblower. We’re looking forward to another successful event.”
- Karen Thorne-Stone, President & Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Media Development Corporation.

“The calibre of international producers and industry professionals makes this a must attend event and I recommend IFF for launching any film into the marketplace.”
- Christina Piovesan, Producer, First Generation Films (Canada), (The Whistleblower)

QUICK FACTS

The International Financing Forum (IFF) will take place September 11th and 12th during the 36th Toronto International Film Festival®. IFF includes one-on-one producer to producer meetings, a state-of-the-industry panel discussion, roundtable meetings, and networking luncheon.

Up to 700 meetings are in the midst of being scheduled for IFF 2011: 270 producer-to-producer meetings; 420 executive-to-producer meetings; 135 executive-to-producer roundtable meetings.

20 Canadian feature film projects have been selected for IFF 2011 including 15 projects from Ontario.

21 international feature film projects have been selected for IFF 2011.

30-35 international industry executives are scheduled to attend, including international sales agents, financiers, agents, and executive producers.

Since 2006, IFF has supported a total of 256 feature films. Features previously supported by OMDC’s IFF include Canadian projects including two OMDC supported features: Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children (currently in post-production) and Christina Piovesan produced, The Whistleblower, starring Academy Award® winner, Rachel Weisz. As well as other highly acclaimed films such as Denis Villeneuve’s 2011 Academy Award® nominated Incendies and international projects: Ralph Fiennes directorial debut, Coriolanus; and Academy Award®- nominated Australian feature, Animal Kingdom.

LEARN MORE

Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), an agency of Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture, facilitates economic development opportunities for Ontario’s cultural media industries including film and television, book and magazine publishing, music and interactive digital media industries.

IFF is a feature film co-financing event created by the OMDC in association with the Toronto International Film Festival® that brings together selected international and Canadian producers developing English language projects. Funding for IFF 2011 is supported by the following returning partners: Telefilm Canada, U.K. Trade and Investment, Astral’s The Harold Greenberg Fund, The Toronto Film and Television Office (TFTO), and Canada Film Capital. We are pleased to welcome our new partner, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT).